Chicken Burger

Hamburger or simply burger is one dish that has penetrated India from the western countries. These days even kids love burgers. It’s a type of sandwich with a patty and some vegetables in between.

Burgers can be made in so many different ways. You can make different types of patties like the beef patty which is the most common one in western countries. In India, chicken burger and veggie burger is the commonly available ones.

The key to making the perfect burger is to keep the patties juicy. In this recipe, I have added one egg. Some people add some extra chicken fat or mix in some cheese to keep the patty juicy. Another thing to keep in mind is not to overcook the patty. Cook it just until the meat is cooked through.

Recipe for Chicken Burger

Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 15 minutes
Serves: 4

Ingredients

Burger Buns - 4

Ground Chicken – ¾ kg (1.5 lb)

Egg - 1

Garlic – 3-4 cloves (crushed)

Green chilies – 2 (finely chopped)

Coriander Leaves (Cilantro) – 2 tbsp (finely chopped)

Salt – to taste (about 1 tsp)

Black Pepper Crushed – to taste

Olive Oil / Butter – for grilling

Iceberg Lettuce (or any other lettuce) – 4 leaves

Tomato circles – 4 pieces

Tomato Ketchup (or Red chili Sauce) – 4 tsp

Mayonnaise (or Mustard Sauce) – 4 tsp

Method

I have taken ¾ kg of ground meat to make a medium sized patty for 4 burgers. It is quite a filling meal with some fries. If you prefer small burgers to have as a snack, make it with ½ kg of meat. If you like to have a thick half pounder burger, take 1 kg of meat.

Take the minced meat in a strainer and rinse it under running water. Leave it in the strainer over a vessel so that all the water drains off.

Mix everything with your fingers. You can also mix in some grated vegetables to make it healthier.

Divide the mixture roughly into 4 equal parts.

Wet your palm with water or grease it with some cooking oil. Take one portion of the ground meat mixture and shape it into a patty. The patty should be the size of the burger buns. Keep it ready.

Cut the burger buns in half. Slice one big onion into circles. Keep these also ready for grilling.

Heat a tawa or stove top grill pan. Since I have a big grill pan I grilled all at once.

Pour few drops of olive oil (or butter) and place the patties on the hot pan. Also toast the buns. In one side, place the sliced onions and add some salt on it.

After a minute the buns will be toasted. You can remove it and keep it aside.

The chicken patties should be cooked for about 3 minutes on each side. When you gently press the center of the patty with your spatula, the juices oozing out should be colorless. Remove it as soon as you see this to enjoy juicy burgers. If it is pink, it needs to cook longer. Do not overcook as the patties will become hard and tasteless.

Cook the onions until it is caramelized.

Take the lower portion of the bun and spread some tomato ketchup. Place the grilled patty on it. Top it with some caramelized onions, a lettuce leaf and tomato slice. Sprinkle some salt and pepper on top. You can also add a cucumber slice and a slice of cheese.

Take the bun top, apply some mayonnaise or mustard sauce on it and close the burger.

Secure with a toothpick and enjoy.

Serving Suggestion

Serve these burgers as a meal with some french fries or potato wedges or potato smiles' or potato chips or some steamed vegetables like steamed broccoli.